BeMySatellite

BeMySatellite is a new public initiative founded by LA-based designer, Bora Shin, that will be officially launching it’s first “mission” at 09:32–9:38AM on Monday, 02/26/2011. Starting with Los Angeles County, the initiative aspires to help every individual on planet earth (roughly 9.83 million people – no big deal, right??) collaboratively leave their mark on commercial satellite imagery (think Google, Yahoo, Bing…). Put simply: the project reinterprets a satellite to be one that facilitates creative opportunities for self-expression, public art, and performance as opposed to one that solely documents and monitors the land. More after the jump.

Using social network systems like Twitter and Facebook, the initiative will assign instructions for participants to leave their mark in specific locations around Los Angeles County that the satellite is predicted to be passing. There will be a new mission every day, which will increase the chances of documentation for the participant. Here is a sample of a completed “mission.”

Example Mission #-: Fill in 3 pixels (16″x48″) for GeoEye-1 with anything in blue from 09:45-9:57AM on Wednesday, 02/22/2011.

As an artist with a background in visual communication, Shin is also framing this initiative as an attempt to build “geospatial literacy,” making the complicated world of satellite imaging systems accessible as a medium for artists and designers to co-create.

From the perspective of a Satellite… you are not even a pixel.

Imagine a satellite view entirely full of public art that is designed specifically to be seen from the scale of a satellite. What if Google Maps really could be a new venue alternative to the every day gallery or museum? There already has been some public artwork built specifically for this “godly” scale, but now the ability to participate in this new kind of performance is at all of our finger tips.

Satellites, in recent years, have become more and more relevant in our everyday lives, whether we have realized it or not. Go participate in the BeMySatellite missions and contribute to a new movement… who knows, maybe the satellite really can belong to the people, and go beyond the standard, commercial, intentions.